‘Dracula’s castle’ on the market in Romania

Image by Romania Tourism

Image by Romania Tourism

‘Dracula’s castle’ on the market in Romania

By Phyllis Stark. CREATED May 16, 2014

Looking for a unique new home? OK with living in Romania? Cool with the home having a bloody reputation? Then we have perfect new digs for you. Bran Castle, the 13th century Transylvania spookateria rumored to have been the home of Dracula, is on the market.

But according to the Washington Post, the home's reputation is a false one. “Images of Bran Castle supposedly reached Bram Stoker, the 19th-century Irish author of ‘Dracula,’ who drew inspiration for his famous work from travelogues and sketches by British diplomats and adventurers in what was then Wallachia (modern-day Romania),” the paper reports.

Since that book was published, Bran Castle “has since become a popular tourist destination for those seeking their Dracula thrills,” according to the Post, which describes the structure as “an atmospheric pile perched atop a crag.” The paper also reports, “The Romanian government has reportedly lodged an $80 million bid” for the castle, one of the country's top draws.

But there was some genuine history behind Stoker's inspiration. A real-life creep named Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, slaughtered his way through the Ottoman Empire, killing as many as 80,000 people during his seven-year reign in the 1400s, many murdered by his favorite method — impaling — which earned him the name Vlad the Impaler.

“According to some accounts, he had acquired the habit of signing his name Vlad Dracul — or son of the dragon — and tales of his short, brutal, bloodthirsty life acquired a folkish horror in the centuries that followed, leading to Stoker's creation,” the Post reports.

None of that actually had anything to do with Bran Castle. But as the Post reports, it “may not be the site of any of Vlad's murders, but his legend looms still. That's probably best for the future owners of the site, who'l need a steady footfall of visitors to recoup the enormous sum needed to acquire it.”

Phyllis Stark

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